What would you do if you were a nurse and pro-life advocate but was ordered into surgery to assist in an

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abortion?  If you were told the patient’s life hung in the balance and your refusal to do your job would further jeopardize the patient, would that make a difference?  And what if the pregnancy was already twenty-two weeks along; would that complicate matters even more?

This is exactly what happened to a nurse in Brooklyn, NY.  Shortly after arriving at Cedars-Sinai hospital for her scheduled shift, she was ordered to provide assistance in an abortion.  In a federal lawsuit, Catherina Cenzon-DeCarlo claims not only was she forced to go against her morals and religious beliefs, but that the abortion wasn’t necessary, at least at the time it was completed.  The lawsuit goes on to say that she pleaded with the physicians to find another nurse who wasn’t so opposed to the procedure but was told if she didn’t accompany the surgeon into the operating room, she could very well lose her job due to patient neglect.  Against her beliefs, she did as she was told.  Now she’s fighting back.

Her lawsuit  says that she put in writing her vehement opposition to abortion and declared she would in no way participate in any abortion procedures.  If that’s the case, the question begging an answer is why wouldn’t the hospital select another nurse to assist?  And if what this nurse claims in her lawsuit that the procedure wasn’t a matter of life and death, what about the patient?  Was she told it was her life or the baby’s?  If the nurse’s lawyers can prove it wasn’t absolutely necessary, odds are, Cedars-Sinai is looking at another lawsuit, this time, from the patient.  Assuming the patient wanted the baby she was carrying - after all, she was already twenty-two weeks along - this woman must now live the fact an abortion she didn’t want was forced upon her by a doctor who chose to decide for her.

Cenzon-DeCarlo has federal “conscience rules” on her side.  Before leaving office, President Bush changed the laws for hospitals that received federal funding.  In short, unless and until a medical facility agreed to respect its workers’ religious and moral beliefs for controversial procedures, it would receive no federal funds.  As of now, these rules are in place; however, many expect President Obama to modify these restrictions, especially since Health and Human Services is accepting ideas regarding proposed changes.

In the meantime, this nurse continues her employment at the hospital.  The lawsuit is asking, among other things, she be allowed to once again work the overtime hours that were suddenly given to co-workers.

You gotta love a southern gal who refuses to bite her tongue.  Angie Harmon found herself defending her displeasure once again with the way the country’s being run by President Obama.  The fact anyone would have to defend his or her stand on the state of this country flies in the face of what this same country is built on.  She’s been accused of being racist because she voiced her displeasure with some of the decisions made by the Obama administration.  Harmon’s always been outspoken in all things political, and even when I find myself biting my tongue to keep from stirring the hornet’s nest, I quietly sit back and think, “You go, girl”.  When asked for a comment by Fox News, she clearly had a bellyful and unleased what she’s obviously  been holding back, “Here’s my problem with this, I’m just going to come out and say it.  If I have anything to say against Obama, it’s not because I’m a racist, it’s because I don’t like what he’s doing as President and anybody should be able to feel that way, but what I find now is that if you say anything against him, you’re called a racist.  But it has nothing to do with it, I don’t care what color he is.  I’m just not

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crazy about what he’s doing and I heard all about this, and he’s gonna do that and change and change…so okay….I’m still dressing for a recession over here buddy and we’ve got unemployment at an all time high and that was his number one thing and that’s the thing I really don’t appreciate.  If I’m going to disagree with my President, that doesn’t make me racist.  If I was to disagree with W, that doesn’t make me racist.  It has nothing to do with it, it’s is ridiculous.”

Anyone who’s ever seen her in an interview knows she probably didn’t stop to catch her breath - in true Harmon form, if it’s on her mind, it’s on her tongue. 

With such across the board statements we heard after the election that the new President’s arrival in the Oval Office would eradicate racism simply hasn’t panned out (And why would anyone think it would?).  Maybe it’s because racism goes far deeper than one man who happens to hold the highest office in the country.  Is racism alive and kicking?  Unfortunately, it is.  But to disagree - keep in mind, there’s a big difference in ‘disagree’ and ‘disrespect’ - with any decisions or policies any president makes should simply indicate the fact we live in a country that makes it absolutely acceptable.  It’s not indicative of racism.  Period. 

There are many who would disagree with President Obama regardless of what he was doing in office - but it has nothing to do with race and has everything to do with loyalty, albeit displaced at times, to the political party.  Just as President Bush had those who vehemently disagreed with all of his policies, there were some who admittedly did so simply because he is Republican.  How many times have we said, “Aw, c’mon…you know if the Republicans had control, that never would’ve come to pass” or “A Democrat would never have allowed that.” 

I’m wondering why Harmon’s vocal approval and insistence that Sarah Palin would have made an excellent vice president doesn’t have folks pointing and yelling, “Feminist!  Feminist!”

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One of the most enduring figures in the American justice system died Monday at the age of 90. Griffin Bell made history on many fronts that shaped the way our current legal system operates today. He was the attorney general for President Jimmy Carter and is said to be one of only a few to have passed the bar exam even before graduating law school. He served in the US Army Quartermaster Corps until 1946 as well as served as a city attorney for Warner Robins, GA. One of his highest-profile cases

Former AG Griffin Bell

before entering the political arena was the investigation into E.F. Hutton & Co. in 1980 for check kiting activities. Before being sworn in as the attorney general during the Carter administration, he served as a chairman in John F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign in 1960. From there, President Kennedy appointed him to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals a year later.

While awaiting Senate confirmation for President Carter’s attorney general nomination, there were a few less than pleasant questions he fielded regarding his membership in private segregated clubs as well as some of his controversial decisions made while he was a federal judge. Still, he was confirmed shortly after Carter took office.

Born in 1918, it’s reported he was a son of a Georgia cotton farmer who helped build the well-known Atlanta law firm, King and Spalding. It wasn’t until the late 1970s that he returned, after his political works, to retire from this same law firm. Most recently, he was one of the few Democrats who supported President Bush’s re-election in 2004 and was also responsible for a study that criticized the FBI’s internal policies for disciplining agents. He’s quoted in this report as saying the methods for agent reprimands are “seriously flawed”.

Perhaps one of the most important contributions he made, however, was the public confidence that was restored after the Watergate scandal that he’s widely credited with. It’s said he restored professionalism by posting publicly every day each third party contact he’d made, including all contacts with those in the White House, Congress and others.

President Carter, after hearing of his death, released a statement saying he was “a trusted and enduring public figure with integrity, professionalism and charm that was greatly valued across party lines and presidential administrations.”

On a personal note, he was the first politician to ever grace Mr. Blackwell’s best dressed Americans list.